Teacher Education - Admissions

Orientation

The School of Education, Health & Human Performance provides new students with numerous opportunities to make early connections to their major field of interest prior to the start of the first semester. To gain knowledge of the complex path to becoming a teacher educator, ALL PRE-ELEMENTARY AND PRE-SECONDARY TEACHER EDUCATION CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO:

Select an EDUCATION-SPECIFIC summer orientation date from the list of dates provided by the FSU Office of Orientation. These special dates provide students with an opportunity to meet with and receive course selection advisement from School of Education faculty members and/or administrators.

Attend the SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PRE-FALL ORIENTATION to be held on Friday of Welcome Weekend. The specific date for this event can be located on the Fairmont State homepage under the academic calendar.

Note-Secondary Education majors have two academic colleges that relate to their major. For example, art education majors have an academic home in the School of Fine Arts and the School of Education. In order to keep informed on issues related to becoming a certified teacher educator, Pre-Secondary Education majors should attend the above events hosted by the School of Education, NOT their specialization area.

Pre-Admissions

DECLARING TEACHER EDUCATION AS A MAJOR

Students who plan on pursuing Teacher Education as a major should officially declare pre-elementary or pre-secondary education as their major as soon as possible. Students will then be assigned an academic advisor that is familiar with the Teacher Education major.

Major changes must be completed by going to the Student Centers Center located in Turley Hall. Students will need to log into the kiosk located at the building entrance closest to Hardway Hall. You must be a Fairmont State student and have a satisfactory GPA (2.0 or higher) to change your major.

THE DECLARATION OF INTENT

The pre-admission process into Teacher Education begins with the completion of a Declaration of Intent form. This form is distributed to students in the EDUC 2200, Introduction to Education class. The Declaration of Intent form provides students with a list of requirements into Teacher Education and starts the admissions process with the creation of a student file in the Teacher Certification Office.

REQUIREMENTS

Listed below are the requirements for consideration into Teacher Education:

Pre-Education Classes

Students must complete two pre-education classes, EDUC 2200, Introduction to Education and EDUC 2201, Instructional Technology as part of the application process. Both classes must be passed with a grade of “C” or better.

Grade Point Average

Entrance into Teacher Education requires a 2.75 or higher grade point average in all three of the following areas:

The Praxis Core Test has replaced the Praxis I - Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) as the required test for entrance into Teacher Education.

All teacher candidates must pass the Core (reading, writing and math sections) or have received a test exemption by providing evidence of a composite score of 26 or higher on the ACT or 1170 or higher on the SAT (Verbal and Quantitative only).

Candidates should plan taking the Praxis Core Test during their first semester as a pre-education major.

The Early Field Experience provides students with firsthand knowledge of the type of work educators do in both community and public school settings. Students are required to complete 50 hours of community-based work at two or three different sites that include experience working with diverse populations.

Credit may be awarded for work completed as part of the high school experience or the summer before college.

Students who enrolled at Fairmont State prior to the fall 2011 term are not required to complete the EFE as part of the application process.

Admissions

APPLICATION INTO THE TEACHER EDUCATION MAJOR:

Applications are accepted when a teacher candidate has completed the following:

Successful completion of the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators Test. NOTE: Effective immediately, the CORE (Case) Test now replaces the former Praxis I PPST Pre-Professional Skills Tests. Any student who has partially completed the former PPSA or is just beginning this process must now complete all three sections: reading, writing and math of the CORE for entrance into the Teacher Education major.

Overall grade point average of 2.75

Field grade point average of 2.75

Education grade point average of 2.75

Successful completion of EDUC 2200 and EDUC 2201 with a grade of “C” or better

The deadlines for application into the Teacher Education major are October 1st and March 1st. Student must purchase TaskStream to complete the NEW online application materials. Students should plan to contact the Destination Education Office, located in 307/308 ED building by calling 304.367.4025 or via email to Carol.Tannous@fairmontstate.edu to request access to the Undergraduate Developmental Portfolio Teacher Admissions packet. This request should occur no sooner than one semester prior to their planned application into the major.

All applications are reviewed by The School of Education Teacher Education Selection Committee.

Note: During the file review period, a request for information on candidates will be sent to all School of Education, Health & Human Performance faculty, staff and administrators. Feedback on a candidate’s “dispositions” is a significant part of this process. According to the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) a disposition is defined as those “professional attitudes, values, and beliefs demonstrated through both verbal and non-verbal behaviors as educators interact with students, families, colleagues and communities.” Candidates should be aware of how personal and professional behaviors may reflect on their pursuit of a career in Teacher Education.

Candidates will be notified by mail of the Teacher Education Selection Committee decision. Letters generally are distributed by mid-October for the fall term and mid-March for the spring term.